Quick Links

The server has all of the features that are found in a normal RADIUS
server implementation. It is unique among Open Source RADIUS servers in
it's support for EAP. In addition, it has many capabilities
not found in any other RADIUS products, even commercial servers from
large vendors. In spite of that complexity, it is simple
to install and configure.

In short, if you need a certain feature, it is likely that FreeRADIUS
supports it. Please see the text below for information about specific
features.

Performance and Scalability

The server is one of the fastest and
scalable products we know of. The unique
modular design enables it to be stripped down for
embedded systems, or to expose all of the available features where
required.

In addition to being simple, FreeRADIUS is designed to be
secure. An AAA server is a critical part of a network,
and a primary target for attackers. Keeping the server safe and secure
is a high priority for us, and for any administrator using the product.

Operating Systems

The server runs on a wide variety of Operating Systems. Every
effort is make to ensure it is 64-bit "clean", though occasional issues
are discovered during development.

A large number of CPU and OS architectures are have been verified
to work, and are supported via the users
list. We suggest that the
server be installed via a pre-built package if one is
available. If a package does not exist for your system, it can be
built from source.

AAA Functionality

Authentication

The server can authenticate users via simple
methods (PAP, CHAP,
MS-CHAP,
MS-CHAPv2, SIP Digest) and
all common EAP types. All client operating systems are
supported, including Windows XP (SP1 and SP2) and Vista, Linux, Mac OSX,
*BSD, and many others.

Databases

All commonly used databases are supported for
authorization, authentication, and accounting. (LDAP, SQL, text files,
etc.). Fail-over and load-balancing across multiple servers is also
supported.

Virtual Servers

FreeRADIUS is the only RADIUS server (commercial or Open Source) that
supports virtual servers. This feature is
similar to the virtual servers used in well-known web servers such as
Apache. This feature can simplify complex implementations, and can
reduce ongoing support and maintenance costs.

Other functionality

VLAN assignment may be done via the VMPS protocol. IP
address assignment can be done via the experimental DHCP
implementation.

Specifications

All RADIUS RFC's are supported. The server is compliant with
the following specifications: